Backstage Cafe

There was a work happy hour last night that I decided to attend. This was the first time I had been to one but they are always held at the Backstage Cafe (their website leaves a little to be desired) in Beverly Hills on Thursday nights. The weird thing though is that the work people don't start arriving until 7 or later--which is after the typical happy hour time--and the happy hour prices.

Between 4pm and 7pm the drinks are $6 wells, $7 wine, and $4 beers. After 7pm the wells go up to $10 a piece but the beers stay $4 all night. The cafe also serves a full menu, coffee, and soft drinks.

From what I saw of the food, it all looked like slightly upscale bar food--this place IS in Beverly Hills keep in mind. The fries looked average but the Caesar salad looked pretty delicious.

The bar/club/cafe has limited outdoor seating roped off from the sidewalk. Large glass windows double as doors allowing people to freely walk in and out--and smoke travels inside too. The bar is in the middle of the room and tables are located in the front and to the right side. On either side of the bar are a flight of stairs. The stairs lead to a lounge area with the DJ/stereo and a couple of cushy tables. If it were up to me, I would have hung out in the lounge all night.

The service was very attentive. There were only two guys working the bar and the serving but there were also a handful of cooks in the kitchen. If you could get through the crowd (I expect Thursday nights are more crowded than most) to the bar, the tenders were quick and friendly. They even stooped down while working the cash register as not to block the musical act. The bar/cafe was also incredibly clean. The bathrooms were clean, the tables were cleaned up quickly, and the floor was spotless from what I could tell.

Around 8:30pm they had a musical guest come in. The singer Quene really made the bar her own. Instead of trying to crowd all the adoring fans into the lounge area, she danced around the room with a microphone and then ended on the stairs which was a perfect place to be seen from every angle. The music and the crowd made the place really fun and enjoyable.

I would definitely go back to Backstage again. If you are a graphic designer, I recommend you try to trade website design for free drinks.





Backstage Cafe
9433 Brighton Way
Beverly Hills, CA 90210
Map